Paul’s first prayer is that God and Jesus together may make possible another visit to Thessalonica. The word translated himself is commonly used by Paul at the beginning of his prayers (cf. 5.23; 2 Thess. 2.16; 3.16). By New Testament times, the word had lost some of its earlier emphatic force, and in this and similar contexts it may be something of a formula. If this is so, the word would be best omitted in translation, as in Moffatt Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Bijbel in Gewone Taal. On the other hand, it is here in an emphatic position at the beginning of a sentence, and so may express a further link with the whole preceding passage 2.17–3:10. This would imply the following: “Satan has done everything possible (cf. 2.18; 3.5) to keep us apart, and has so far succeeded. We therefore pray that God himself and our Lord Jesus (the only higher power to whom we can appeal) may overrule Satan’s efforts and bring us together again.” In this case, the word himself, which is included in most translations, would be justified.

In many languages one cannot speak of Father without identifying the person(s) to whom he stands in that relation; that is, kinship terms such as “father” must always be possessed. In general, the possessive pronoun used with “Father” in this type of context would be the inclusive first person plural, if one must distinguish between first person inclusive and exclusive, for example, “I pray that our God and our Father himself.” A connective such as “and” might give the impression that there are two deities. Accordingly, apposition or a relative clause may be necessary, for example, “our God, our Father” or “our God, who is our Father.”

God and Jesus are so united in Paul’s thought and prayer that he can link them as subjects of verbs (may … prepare, v. 11, may … make … grow more and more and may … make … become … great, v. 12) which in Greek are the singular. This emphasizes the way in which Paul can speak first of God the Father and immediately after of Jesus in relation to the same activities. King James Version‘s addition of “Christ” (after “Lord Jesus”) is unlikely to be a part of the original text. Modern translations, with the exception of Knox and Jerusalem Bible (but not Bible de Jérusalem), have our Lord Jesus, which is almost certainly correct.

The exact meaning of the word translated prepare, and therefore of the metaphor prepare the way, is not certain in this context. The verb may mean either (1) “to make straight,” or (2) “to guide or direct.” If the second possibility is chosen, a human object must be supplied: “may God guide us along the path which leads to you.” Phillips, for example (cf. Knox New English Bible Translator’s New Testament Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale), translates “guide our steps to you.” “To make straight” seems to fit the context better, since the problem is not that the evangelists may lose their way, but that outside obstacles need to be removed. Barclay (cf. Bijbel in Gewone Taal) accordingly translates “open up the way,” and Zürcher Bibel Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée Bible de Jérusalem have “smooth our path.” The Greek word occurring here is related both in form and in meaning to that used in Mark 1.3b: “Make a straight path for him to travel.”

In many languages prepare the way, particularly in the meaning which it has in this context, is rendered “make it possible for us to come,” or “remove anything that keeps us from coming.”

In some languages an idiomatic expression, “to clear the path for us to come to you,” may be employed. In some languages it is often important to distinguish carefully the directional implications in terms such as “come” and “go.” This means that some languages in this instance may require “go to you” rather than “come to you.” It all depends upon the perspective used in a language. Is the point of reference the people to whom one is addressing a letter, or is it the place from which the letter is sent? Careful attention to such details are necessary if one is to avoid serious confusion (see notes on 4.14).

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .